What You Don't Know
by svgirl
Summary: A story about Jessica and Jeremy...with a twist. What if Jeremy already had a girlfriend when he met Jessica? Please R
1. Damn Lucky

I'm back! I took a long break after finishing Behind Her Back, but I  
had several great ideas this past week that I couldn't ignore. This story  
will mainly focus on Jessica and takes place after she broke up with  
Will in book thirteen. The only catch is that she has never met Jeremy.  
Liz will be mentioned in this story but she's not the focus. Enjoy!

"Jeremy," Trent said, sounding slightly aggravated. "We're going to be  
late."  
"This will take like fifteen seconds, I swear," Jeremy said hopping  
out.  
"Man, you are _whipped_," Trent said, not turning the car off. "Make it  
ten seconds, I have a history test and I need all the extra time I can  
get."  
Jeremy hurried into the empty House of Java, and walked up to the  
counter where a sullen Corey was working. Jeremy opened his mouth to order  
but Corey shoved a small paper bag and coffee at him. "Low-fat  
cappuccino and a blueberry muffin," she growled. "And you're late."  
"Thanks, Cor," Jeremy said, handing her a ten. "I'll see you this  
afternoon."  
"No you won't," she said, brightening up, as if the possibility of not  
seeing Jeremy that afternoon made her day. "I got tickets to see  
Gelatinous Cubed tonight, you're working with Wakefield."  
"Oh," Jeremy said, slightly disappointed. It's not as if he had  
anything against Elizabeth Wakefield, it's just that after Conner had dumped  
her, she had been really quiet and moody. Jeremy wished he could find  
this Conner jerk and really lay it into him. He couldn't imagine what kind  
of idiot took a sweet girl like Elizabeth and turned her into a mopey  
zombie.  
"Hey, Trent?" Jeremy asked, climbing back into Trent's silver BMW.  
"Yeah," Trent said looking up. He had been drumming his fingers against  
the steering wheel. He quickly pulled out of the parking lot and made a  
left hand turn onto the main road that Jeremy was sure was illegal.  
"You know that girl I work with, Elizabeth?"  
"Yeah, the hot blonde, right?"  
"Well, she's been kind of down since things ended with her last  
boyfriend…think maybe you could take her out or something, you know,  
show her a good time."  
"I would," Trent said, going through a yellow light. "But no offense,  
she looks like a relationship type girl and I promised myself I would just  
have fun our senior year."  
"Yeah, I guess she is, but what's wrong with relationships?"  
Trent quickly pulled into Big Mesa's parking lot and found a space in  
the back. He turned to Jeremy "We can't all be like you."  
Jeremy grabbed his bag and the coffee. "There's nothing wrong with  
relationships, it's nice to have someone to depend upon and who knows you."  
"Yeah, but I don't have to make daily coffee and muffin runs either,"  
Trent said smirking. "I get the good stuff without the strings." He  
punched Jeremy in the shoulder. "I'm going to head straight to homeroom.  
I'm like going to bomb this history test."  
"You mean you're going to get a 98 instead of a 100?" Jeremy said  
teasing.  
"Something like that, plus I want to miss the goopy Jeremy  
morning locker smoochfest."  
Jeremy rolled his eyes and headed towards the end of the hall. His eyes  
light up when he saw her and he felt a warm feeling spread across his  
body. It was amazing that he still felt this way after all this time.  
She had her books held in front of her and she was talking with her best  
friend. She was dressed simply but trendy in a white blouse with  
three-quarter length sleeves and a short, red pleated skirt.  
Jeremy headed over to the girls. "Hey Kristen," he said giving a quick  
glance to the petite blonde, turning his attention to the other girl.  
"Hey," he said softly, and brushed a loose strand of black hair behind her  
ear.  
'You're late," she said poking him playfully in the chest. He held up  
the muffin bag and her coffee. "Thanks," she said giving him a quick  
kiss on the lips.  
"I'm going to leave you two alone," the blonde said, smiling.  
"Bye, Kris," she said "I'll see you in Thompson's class."  
"So, Amanda," Jeremy said leaning up against her locker. "How was your  
weekend?"  
"Hell," she said, pressing herself up against him, sending sparks  
throughout his body. "I mean it was cool seeing my aunt, but I wish they  
didn't live in Washington. I missed you."  
"I missed you too," Jeremy said running his fingers lightly through her  
thick hair. "Trent and Stan in no way make up for you."  
Amanda giggled. "I should think not." She pulled back from Jeremy and  
peeked into her muffin bag. "Ooo, blueberry, my favorite!" she said  
smiling. Jeremy felt his stomach muscles clench up like they did every time  
Amanda smiled. Even after five years he couldn't believe how lucky he  
was. It wasn't just how she looked, either. Even though at five feet  
eleven, a model worthy body, long, straight black hair, lightly tanned  
skin, and dazzling green eyes she was probably one of the five hottest  
girls at Big Mesa. All that stuff didn't matter to Jeremy. But she was  
also one of the nicest, sweetest girls he had ever met. After all, how  
many rich girls volunteered at the woman's shelter every week because  
they liked helping the women?  
"So why are you so late? Do you have a secret girlfriend I should be  
worried about?" she said teasingly.  
Jeremy laughed. "I was helping Emma with her math homework and she was  
having a lot of problems."  
"At least she has big brother Jeremy to help her," Amanda said, taking  
a sip of her coffee. "So do you have any plans for tonight? I was  
thinking maybe we could go out. There's a new Matt Damon movie that just  
came out."  
"I'm sorry," Jeremy said. "But I have to work tonight, but not  
tomorrow. Even though watching you stare at Matt for two hours isn't my idea of  
fun, it sure beats working with Liz."  
"Is she still depressed about Conner?" Amanda said, concerned. "She  
must have really liked him. I only met him that once, but he seems like a  
jerk."  
"Yeah, I thought so to. I tried to get Trent to take her out, just so  
she'd get out with other people, but he didn't want to."  
"He's not really her type, but maybe that's not such a bad thing,"  
Amanda said thoughtfully. Suddenly the bell rang, and Amanda jumped  
slightly. "Damn, I forgot how late you were, you haven't even been to your  
locker yet." She gave him a quick peck on the lips, and then sped off to  
her homeroom. Jeremy smiled. Damn, he was lucky.

"I can't do this, I can't do this," Jessica said looking quickly both  
ways. Thankfully she hadn't spotted Will and Melissa making out or  
anything.  
"Remember Jess, for the hundredth time, Will's a loser. Anyone who goes  
crawling back to his Hitleresque girlfriend is a loser _and_ sad,"  
Maria said grabbing onto Jessica right arm and practically dragging her  
down the hall."  
"Yeah, plus he's totally stuck on himself. I mean, he waxes his  
eyebrows for crying out loud," Tia said, pulling on her other arm.  
"He does?" Jessica said, her eyes brightening. "He never told me that."  
"No duh," Tia said rolling her eyes. "But seriously Jess, you have to  
toughen up. You can't let Melissa walk all over you."  
"Yeah, where's the Jessica from last year?" Maria said teasingly. "If a  
girl even looked at your boyfriend you were all over."  
"Yeah, but with Melissa I just feel like….dirt."  
"That's the way she wants you to feel," Tia said. "Where's Liz? Maria  
and I aren't enough for this job."  
"She's probably camped outside of Conner's homeroom," Maria said,  
rolling her eyes.  
"I'm glad that you two finally made up," Tia said. "Conner is so not  
worth it."  
"Try telling that to Liz, I got the news flash when I saw him feeling  
up my best friend in his kitchen," Maria said dryly.  
"Hey guys, what's up?" a happy voice said from behind them.  
They all stopped dead in their tracks. "It sounds like Liz," Tia said,  
slowing turning around. "Holy crap," Tia said, when she saw her friend.  
"_Liz_?" Jessica said incredulously, forgetting about Will.  
"What? Don't you like it?"  
"Why?" Maria said unable to say much else.  
"Conner," Tia said sympathetically.  
"No, not everything I do is about him," Liz snapped. "I don't need your  
pity."  
"No, I think you look awesome," Tia said quickly. "It's nice to see  
that you're finally getting over him."  
"When did you do this?" Jessica shocked, still speechless by the red  
streaks in her sister's hair.  
"Last night, during your how-could-Will-do-this-to-me cry-a-thon."  
Jessica opened her mouth to get back at her sister's new found  
bhiness, but she saw Cherie, Amy, Gina, Lila, and Melissa…with Will's arm   
wrapped protectively around her, approaching her. Normally in this  
situation she would be wearing a killer outfit, and not her old Juicy sweats,  
and she would be flirting with every hot guy who was not Will.  
"Hey Jessica," Melissa said calmly. "I heard about your big breakup,"  
she glanced over Jessica's outfit. "I'm glad you're handling it well,"   
she said, smirking every so slightly.  
"You should really lay off the ice cream, Ben and Jerry's does not do  
anything for your thighs," Cherie said giggling.  
Jessica looked down in alarm. Her thighs were _not_ fat. Just because  
she wasn't some bug like twig like Melissa was did not mean that she was  
fat.  
"Actually," Jessica said, feeling some of the old Wakefield bhiness  
run through her veins, "I wanted to thank you for picking him up, I  
always get rid of my trash on garbage day."  
Melissa's eyes narrowed and she glanced at Cherie.  
"You're just jealous because Will got tired of your sluttiness," Gina  
said.  
"It's not like I had much choice, when I started dating him I forgot to  
take out the chip in his neck that Melissa was still controlling him  
with. See, when I'm with a guy I don't try to keep him by force."  
Will blushed and looked at the floor.  
"Why can't you just accept that you're just not good enough for him,"  
Melissa said soothingly, like she was talking to a child. "It's kind of  
pathetic."  
"Maybe he can't handle a woman who actually has a thought of her own.  
Try thinking for yourself for once. I mean, can you really not order  
your own food, it's kind of pathetic," Jessica said crossing her arms over  
her chest.  
"You just keep lying to yourself, you know he never stopped wanting me.  
It only took him like three weeks to get over his little obsession.  
Plus, all you guys did was like hold hands."  
"Is that what he told you?" Jessica said smirking.  
"Yeah," Melissa said, slightly nervous. She glanced at Will.  
"Unless you call making out in his car, my car, Lila's basement, his  
bedroom, Lila's hot tub, and the janitor's closet nothing," Jessica said.  
Melissa shot daggers at Lila. "Hey, don't look at me," Lila said. "I  
didn't know."  
"Don't you just love that thing he does to your neck?" Jessica  
continued.  
"Whatever," Melissa said lamely. "You still weren't close. You don't  
have the history that we had."  
"I don't know," Jessica said shrugging. "I thought we were pretty  
close. You might want to try it, it's called not having your boyfriend on a  
two-foot string."  
And with that, she turned and walked triumphantly down the hall. This  
is what she lived for. It was enough for her to forget about Will.  
Almost.


	2. Pink and Blue

Jeremy rubbed a clear circle, wiping condensation on the mirror. Soon, his face  
was visible through the steam. He had just gotten out of the shower and  
was going to shave his face. He had just shaved yesterday, but he was  
taking Amanda to Antoine's, the fancy Italian restaurant in El Carro.  
Normally on a Thursday night, he would be doing his homework in front of  
SportsCenter, but tomorrow there was the big game against Trinity High  
School and on Saturday Amanda was going to her sister's baby shower. Plus,  
he was working Saturday afternoon. In a way, he wished football season  
were over because between practices, games, work, school, and Amanda he  
felt like he had no time left just to lounge around. The low buzz of  
the razor calmed his busy mind, and he began mentally deciding what to  
wear. He decided to wear the same suit he had worn for homecoming because  
he knew that Amanda had liked it. Mostly because she had picked it out.  
He turned his razor off and ran some gel through his still-damp hair.  
Then he stepped out of the bathroom and walked down the hall to his  
bedroom. He pulled his suit out from the back of the closet. It still had a  
little bit of glitter on it from when he and Amanda had been crowned  
homecoming king and queen. Jeremy fingered his suit with a small smile.  
That had been an amazing night. Unlike his friends who had dated girl  
after girl, Jeremy had always been content to stay with Amanda. No one,  
next to maybe his parents, knew him like she did.  
His mind wandered back to when he had first met her. It was the summer  
when they were ten and they were both taking tennis lessons at the  
country club. Amanda had won the girls championship at the end of camp and  
he had won the boys. Then they had played each other for the all  
country club junior champion. Amanda had creamed him. He had only learned to  
play that summer. His pride had been shattered and he had gotten back at her  
by dumping Gatorade in her practice bag.  
The next summer when they were eleven, they were again the boys and  
girls champs. However, this time Jeremy beat her. She had gotten back at  
him by shoving tampons into his changing locker. It was still one of the  
top five most embarrassing moments of his life.  
The next summer when they were twelve, Jeremy noticed how pretty she  
had gotten and he had had a humungous crush on her that summer.  
Unfortunately, he handled it like most twelve year old boys did, by acting like  
a complete annoyance and pest. That summer the instructor decided that  
they would play as doubles since they were the two best players at the  
club. They had protested bitterly because neither of them had been used  
to playing doubles. Jeremy smiled because he realized that his protests  
were half-hearted at best. He had secretly been thrilled. Still, he  
spent half the summer flipping up her tennis skirt from behind, teasing  
her about her crush on the sixteen-year-old assistant, and snapping her  
bra straps. She spent most of the summer ignoring him or calling him  
pizza face because he didn't have the clearest complexion then.  
Then, towards the end of the summer after practice, as they were filing  
into the clubhouse to change, Jeremy flipped her skirt up one time to  
many. She whirled around and punched him in the face. He had been so  
surprised that he stumbled backwards and fell down against the wall. Amanda  
had been so embarrassed that she had stooped down to see if he was  
okay. Jeremy had stared at her and quickly kissed her. It was both of  
theirs first kiss. She had been surprised, but from that moment on they had  
started dating. They had been the first of the seventh graders to pair  
off into a couple. That was the last summer that Jeremy had gone to  
tennis lessons. He slowly devoted his time to basketball and football, but  
Amanda still played tennis and was the star player on the Big Mesa  
tennis team. He still played with her sometimes and she always beat his  
pants off.  
Jeremy's mind returned to the present and he quickly put his suit on  
and went down to the bathroom to splash on some of the cologne that Amanda  
had given him for his birthday last year. As he was rummaging around for  
the bottle, he heard his mom say "Hey Jer?"  
Jeremy turned around to see his mom standing in the doorway. "Yeah?"  
"I was just wondering what time you'd be back tonight."  
"Probably around nine or so," he said shrugging. He found the bottle  
and quickly pulled it out.  
His mom smiled at him. "You look handsome, sweetie."  
"Thanks," he said splashing some of the cologne on.  
His mom hesitated in the doorway.  
"What, Mom?" he asked. His mom usually left Jeremy pretty much alone.  
"You know how much I like Amanda, she's a wonderful girl…it's just I  
wonder if you two should be so serious with college coming up soon and  
everything," she paused.  
Jeremy sighed. His parents had dropped hints and suggestions about him  
and Amanda ever since they had started dating seriously. They just  
didn't understand that he didn't want to date other girls. He liked Amanda  
so why should he ruin a good thing?  
"Mom, it's okay. You know we've applied to the same colleges so we  
won't be apart." They had both applied to the same five schools. They had applied to  
a school that they mutually liked then they each picked two schools.  
They were applying to UCLA, Ohio State and USC (Amanda's choices) and  
University of Arizona and University of San Diego (Jeremy's picks).  
"I know," his mom said. "It's just I worry that you two will miss out  
on so much. You know you each will meet a lot of different people in  
college."  
"I know," Jeremy said, slightly exasperated. "It's just that we're  
happy together."  
"I know, sweetie," his mom said smiling. "I really do like Amanda, it's  
just…remember to have a clear mind."  
The doorbell rang. Jeremy gave his mom a quick hug and said, "I will."  
Then he dashed down the stairs and flung open the front door.  
"Wow, you look really nice," he said taking in Amanda. Her long, black  
hair and been curled and fell over her shoulders in waves. She was  
wearing a short, white dress with spaghetti straps that showed off her tan.  
"Incredible," he said softly.  
Amanda smiled. "Hey Jer, hey Trish, Emma," she said. Jeremy turned  
around and saw Trish and Emma grinning at Amanda shyly.  
"I lost a tooth," Tricia said proudly.  
"I got a 100 on my science test," Emma bragged.  
"That's great," Amanda said smiling. "I'm so proud of you guys."  
Jeremy laughed. "See you two midgets later," he said and walked outside  
with Amanda. They climbed into her silver Porsche and zoomed off  
towards El Carro.

"How's everything," their waiter said, stopping by their table.  
"It's wonderful," Amanda said, smiling up.  
The waiter nodded and whisked away.  
"So, are you ready for the big game tomorrow?" Amanda said.  
"Yeah, Trinity shouldn't be that hard to beat. I'm more worried about  
the Sweet Valley game in two weeks. They're undefeated, too."  
"You'll beat them," she said confidently. "I'm just glad that girl  
Kristen graduated last year, maybe this will finally be my year for the  
state championship title."  
"You have to become the regional champion first," he said grinning.  
"I'll get it, especially if you're there."  
"You know I always am."  
They ate in a comfortable silence for a while. "So," she finally said.  
"Have any big plans on Saturday?"  
"Yeah, you know Rick Dwyer?"  
"One of the running backs?" she asked.  
"Yeah. He's one of the El Carro guys and he's having a party for his  
friends at Big Mesa and his other friends that got transferred to Sweet  
Valley. Trent, Stan, and I are going to go."  
"Sounds like fun," she said lightly.  
"Yeah, it'll be awesome. I think Rick mentioned that there was going to  
be a PlayStation tournament." The waiter returned and handed  
Jeremy the bill. "So, are you excited about your sister's shower?"  
"Yeah," she said, her eyes lighting up. "My aunt already threw her one  
for family and it was fun. But her friend Cassie is throwing her one  
for all her co-workers and friends so it should be a lot of fun even  
though I'll be the youngest one there."  
"She still doesn't know what it's going to be?"  
"No, Mitch, her husband, wants it to be a surprise, but I think Heather  
wants to know so she can start decorating the nursery room. Mitch wants  
to paint it basic yellow or white but I know Heather wants pink for a  
girl and red for a boy."  
"I can't believe you're going to be an aunt!" Jeremy said shaking his  
head.  
"I know! I'm so excited."  
They pushed their chairs back and walked towards the front. Jeremy  
handed the man at the register his credit card and they headed out to the  
parking lot. They drove in silence until they reached Crystal Park. That  
was one of the coolest things about being so close, Jeremy decided. You  
could sit in silence and enjoy being with each other instead of being  
uncomfortable. Amanda turned the car off and turned to Jeremy. "Thanks  
for dinner. It was really nice." She fiddled with her bracelet. It had  
been a gift from her parents for her sixteenth birthday and Jeremy knew  
the stones were real emeralds to match her eyes. Amanda was probably  
one of the wealthiest girls in their class, and even though she dressed  
nice and had sophisticated tastes, she wasn't a snob.  
"You're welcome," he took her hand and began rubbing her palm with his  
thumbs. "This year has been perfect," he said softly.  
"I know," she said smiling. "This has definitely been an awesome senior  
year. College is going to even better, though."  
"Definitely. It's too bad that freshmen have to live in dorms. It's  
getting harder and harder to leave you at night, if you know what I mean."  
Jeremy noticed that Amanda had hesitated slightly.  
"I'm not pressuring you," he whispered. "But remember it's me."  
"I know," she said looking down. "That's what makes it so hard. You've  
been my first for everything else…" she trailed off.  
Jeremy smiled and leaned over to kiss her. She had been his first for  
everything, too. He had never even gone out with another girl. Sure, he  
knew that he could have his pick. Back in eighth grade and ninth grade  
several girls had come onto him. Marcie Anderson had sent him love  
notes for two weeks. Shelia Turner had walked her dog in front of his house  
for a month. And most notably, Angela Williams had come over one  
Saturday to wash his car. Amanda had flipped out over that one.  
They had broken up for two months during their freshman year when Brad  
Michaels, the star senior quarterback, had asked her out and she had accepted.  
Jeremy had been crushed, but when she came begging for forgiveness he  
had taken her back. Other than that, they had been inseparable for the  
past five years.   
Suddenly, Amanda pulled back. "We really should stop. Plus I have to  
finish my homework."  
Jeremy pulled back, slightly disappointed. When they reached his house  
and leaned over and gave her one, last lingering kiss. "See you  
tomorrow."  
"You too," she said smiling.  
"Love you."  
"Love you."

All Elizabeth wanted to do was to curl up in her bed, under all her  
warm blankets, even though it was eighty degrees out, and bury her nose in  
_Jane Eyre_. She had spent the whole day pretending to be up, when she  
had in fact, never felt so down. She had realized that she had been  
moping about Conner for almost a month. She realized her friends must be  
getting pretty fed up with her. Plus, with Jessica moping around about  
Will, she figured their friends could only take so much Wakefield gloom.  
So she had streaked her hair pink. Actually, it was only pale pink, but  
that hadn't stopped her parents from hitting the roof. She gave them a  
lot of credit though for not saying anything, just turning various  
shades of purple. Even though her friends had tried to be enthusiastic, she  
knew they were just pretending. Plus, Conner hadn't even noticed. If  
she wanted to be honest with herself, that had been a big part of the  
reason why she had done it. And not only had Conner not noticed, she had  
seen him flirting with some stupid junior after school. Tears formed in  
her eyes. Conner had finally moved on and there was no way he was coming  
back to her. Tia had been right. Then to top it off she had to work the  
evening shift at the House of Java. Luckily, that Thursday night the  
café was deserted giving her plenty of time to mope.  
Ally popped her head out of the back. "Since it looks like we're going  
to have a slow night so we don't need two people working counter," she  
said looking between Elizabeth and Nancy. "Nancy, could you sweep out the  
place and clean the bathrooms? Then clean the windows and tables?"  
Nancy groaned.  
""Elizabeth did it last week and Jeremy the week before," Ally pointed  
out.  
"I'll help you after I clean out the coffee machines," Elizabeth said.  
"Thanks," Nancy said gratefully.  
Ally returned to her office and Nancy went to the supply cabinet to get  
the mop. "Better do the bathrooms first to get it over with," she said  
making a face.  
"Jeremy did an awesome job two weeks ago so it shouldn't be that bad,"  
Elizabeth said sympathetically. Nancy nodded and disappeared. Elizabeth  
wished Jeremy were working here tonight. Nancy was nice, but Jeremy  
always made her feel happier. Elizabeth sighed and turned to the  
cappuccino machine. She lifted up the grate where they placed the cups and  
sighed. Obviously the person who had cleaned it last hadn't done such a  
great job. There were coffee stains and dried coffee clumps everywhere. She  
grabbed an old rag and cleaning stuff and started to scrub. She was so  
busy cleaning that when the bells over the door rang, she jumped about  
ten feet in the air. An old lady walked slowly up to the counter.  
Elizabeth threw the rag aside and wiped her hands quickly on her apron.  
"Good evening and welcome to the House of Java, what can I get you?"  
she said cheerfully.  
"Good evening," the lady said as she stared up at the huge board with  
all the choices. The bell over the door rang again and Elizabeth glanced  
up to see who had walked in.  
She did a double take. He was probably one of the coolest guys she had  
ever seen and definitely one of the five hottest. He wasn't exactly her  
type, though. He was about six foot and kind of lanky. He was wearing  
baggy black jeans and a black Led Zeppelin shirt. He was wearing about three  
metal chains around his neck. But what made him stand out was his hair. It was  
black and shaggy, kind of like Evan's, but the ends of his hair were dyed  
midnight blue. He had 'bad' written all over him. Elizabeth felt a slight shiver go t  
hrough her body.  
She reluctantly turned back to the old woman. "Have you decided yet?"  
"I want just regular coffee, I think."  
"Black or flavored?"  
The old woman looked confused and wrung her hands in front of her.  
The blue haired guy smiled at the woman and for a second Elizabeth was  
afraid that he was going to mug her. "Ma'am, you can get plain black  
coffee but you can also get Hazelnut, French vanilla, raspberry, almond,  
or honey blend."  
The woman turned around and smiled. "Thank you, young man." She turned  
to Elizabeth. "I'll have French vanilla, please."  
Elizabeth smiled and quickly prepared the coffee. The woman gave her a  
five and Elizabeth handed her her change. "Have a nice evening," she  
told the woman.  
The blue haired guy stood in front of her smiling. Elizabeth blushed  
even though she knew he probably wasn't smiling at her. "That was really sweet  
what you did," she said. "What can I get you?"  
"Thanks," the guy said. There was that grin again. "Didn't expect it,  
did you?" Elizabeth blushed. Did he know what she had been thinking,  
about him mugging that old woman? He laughed. Elizabeth blushed again, he  
had a nice laugh. "It's okay, I get it all the time. It must be  
something about seventies rock t-shirts, or my hair," he said. "I'm actually a  
really nice guy. I'm great with old people and small children. Plus,  
you have some crazy hair yourself," he said gesturing to her pink  
streaks.  
"Thanks," she was glad _someone_ liked her hair. "But I'm not bad at  
all. It's just washout, it'll be gone in two or three days. Plus, you're  
not scary looking. Now if you had been wearing black eyeliner…" she  
said mischievously.  
The guy laughed. "It makes my eyes itch, but I do wear this," he said  
holding up his hands to show Elizabeth that his nails were painted  
black.  
"Guys that wear makeup always creeps me out," Elizabeth confessed. "But  
on you it looks…cool. Plus, it's just nail polish." Elizabeth quickly  
realized that there might be a line but she hadn't heard the bells ring.  
Plus it was nice to talk and laugh with a guy. It felt…refreshing.  
"I'm Cody," the guy said.  
"I'm-" she started to say.  
"You're Elizabeth Wakefield," he said grinning. He saw the surprised  
look on her face. "Come on, every guys knows who you are, you're one of  
the hottest girls in the school."  
Elizabeth was sure she resembled a ripe tomato with all the blushing  
she had been doing in the last five minutes.  
She was surprised to know that he went to Sweet Valley, but she figured  
they didn't run in the same crowds.  
"I'm one of the El Carro students," he said. "Don't worry, there's no  
reason why you should know me, we don't have any classes together or  
anything. And don't worry; I'm not some crazed stalker, either."  
"I didn't think you were…just crazy," she said jokingly.  
"Listen, I've almost forgotten why I'm here," he said shaking his head.  
"We sell coffee here," Elizabeth said, giggling. "We take beans and  
grind them, and sometimes we add different flavors."  
"What a concept," he said laughing. "I'll have an iced moccachino," he   
said.  
Elizabeth quickly filled his order and he paid. She reluctantly handed  
him back his change. She didn't want him to leave; she had been having  
such a fun time. Probably the best time she had had in weeks.  
He took his changed the fiddled with the loose change awkwardly. "I'm  
really nervous and you probably have a boyfriend or several, but there's  
this club, The Cosmo, that's having a bunch of local bands playing this  
Saturday night and I was wondering if, maybe…you'd…"  
"Sure," Elizabeth said quickly. "I'd mean if that's what you were going  
to ask. If I'd go with you," Elizabeth said stupidly.  
"Great, and I was," he said smiling. Elizabeth smiled back. She  
wondered what her parents or Jessica would say if they saw her with Cody. Or  
Conner. She wanted to slap herself. She didn't want to go out with Cody  
to make Conner jealous. But she couldn't help but wonder what he would  
think.


	3. Coworkers, Snobs, and Sluts

"Ugh, I just want to get out of here," Jeremy complained to Elizabeth.  
"Come on," she said cheerfully. "We only have twenty minutes left."  
"Twenty looong minutes," Jeremy replied. "I mean come on, it's a  
Saturday, and it should be against the law for teenagers to work on a  
Saturday. Plus, I want you to go back to being mopey and complaining.  
You're way to cheerful for a seven hour shift."  
"Big plans with Amanda?" Elizabeth said teasingly.  
"No, she's going to her sister's baby shower. I'm going to a party with  
Trent and Stan. I haven't hung with the guys in a while."  
The bell over the door rang.  
"I want to take that bell and throw it in into the Pacific," Jeremy said.  
"If I have to make another latte I'll scream," Elizabeth said,  
squeezing her eyes shut.  
"Hey Jer," a bright voice said.  
"Oh thank God it's you," Jeremy said, sighing with relief. "We thought  
you were a customer."  
"Well I am, sort of," she said grinning. "I thought I'd stop by and say  
hi before I need to be at my sister's. But I would like a mocha latte,"  
she said smiling.  
"I'll get it," Jeremy said, shooting a bemused look at Elizabeth.  
"So, how are things at the good old HOJ?" Amanda asked.  
"Hell," Elizabeth said. "I have never seen this place so packed. This  
is the first moment of quiet that we've had all day."  
Jeremy placed her drink in front of her. She gave him a quick kiss.  
"It's a shame we both have plans tonight," she said quietly.  
"Gag me," Elizabeth said rolling her eyes. "So what did you get your  
sister?" she said changing the subject.  
Amanda's eyes lit up. "Oh, I got her this adorable stuffed kitten that  
has a music recorder inside that plays a whole bunch of nursery rhymes.  
Plus, I got her a baby book and two Mickey Mouse sleepers that would be  
cute for a girl or a boy."  
"Neat," Elizabeth said. "When's she due?"  
"In four weeks," Amanda said happily. "I am so excited. I cannot wait  
to be an aunt."  
"You're so lucky," Elizabeth said dreamily. "I love babies."  
"So how are you feeling?" Amanda asked Jeremy with concern.  
"I'm fine, I probably won't even have a bruise."  
"Why? What happened?" Elizabeth asked.  
"Some three hundred pound gorilla linebacker knocked Jeremy down pretty  
hard yesterday," Amanda said.  
"At least we won," Jeremy said excitedly. "We're now seven and zero  
with only three games left."  
"Unfortunately for you we won as well," Elizabeth said laughing. "My  
sister is practically bouncing off the walls, she really wants to go to  
state this year."  
"Well, so do we and I think we can beat you," Jeremy said, punching  
Elizabeth playfully on the shoulder.  
"I don't know," Elizabeth said shaking her head. "Even though Will's a  
jerk, he's a pretty good quarterback. But I do wish it were Ken  
Matthews leading us."  
Amanda quickly took a big sip of coffee and changed the  
subject. "So," she said shooting Jeremy a look. "What's up Liz?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"I haven't seen you this happy in a while. So come on, spill."  
Elizabeth blushed. Jeremy leaned in to Amanda. "Lizzie's got a _date_,"  
he said teasingly. Elizabeth blushed even harder.  
Amanda's eyes light up. "That's great! It's time you forgot about that  
idiot Conner."  
"Yeah, it's some guy I go to school with," she said shrugging. "No big  
deal."  
"But it is a big deal! What's his name? Where is he taking you?"  
"His name is Cody-"  
"What a great name!" Amanda interrupted. "That's what Heather should  
name her baby if it's a boy."  
"Anyway, he's taking me to the Cosmo."  
Amanda's eyes widened. "That place is so cool."  
"I've never been," Elizabeth confessed.  
"We've only been once," Jeremy said. "It's pretty wild but there's tons  
of great local bands."  
"What are you going to wear?" Amanda asked.  
"I'm not sure, I'll probably have to borrow something from Jessica,"  
Elizabeth said thoughtfully.  
"This is great," Amanda said giddily. "Aren't you just the tiniest bit  
excited about going out?"  
"Yes," Elizabeth admitted.  
Amanda glanced at her watch. "I really have to get going. I promised to  
pick up the cake from the bakery."  
Jeremy tugged on Liz's arm. "Come on, I hear Cory and Daniel in the  
back. I think we can punch out now."  
"Bye," Amanda said heading out the door. "I'll call you tonight, Jer.  
And you," she said pointing at Elizabeth. "I want to hear everything  
about your date."

Amanda parked her car in the cul-de-sac of the small street that her  
sister and brother-in-law lived on. Mitch had told her to park down there  
so that Heather wouldn't see all the cars in the driveway and become  
suspicious. She walked quickly towards her sister's house trying to  
juggle the large cake box and the small stack of presents. She opened the  
door to her sister's small, two floor house and Jackie, her sister's best  
friend, took the cake from her and led Amanda into the living room.  
"Thanks again for getting the cake," Jackie said, placing it next to  
the rest of the food.  
Amanda placed her presents next to Jackie's. "So where are Heather and  
Mitch?" she asked curiously.  
"They went to an afternoon matinee at the movies. They'll be back in  
about half an hour."  
For the next half hour Amanda helped to stream crepe paper across the  
room while her sister's friends arrived. Soon the room looked festive  
and bright thanks to the balloons, crepe paper, and twinkling gold  
Christmas lights.  
Suddenly they all heard the rumble of the garage door going up.  
"Everybody hide," Jackie hissed.  
Smiling, Amanda crouched behind the large potted tree her sister had in  
the living room. The door opened and Mitch led her very pregnant sister  
into the living room.  
"Surprise!" everyone shouted. Heather looked _very_ surprised and gave Jackie  
a huge hug. "Thank you," she said, dabbing her eyes.  
Amanda went over and gave her sister a quick hug. Heather could not  
have looked more different from Amanda. Heather was short, and had light brown  
hair. Plus, while Amanda was dressed in a pale pink Calvin Klein tank  
dress, Heather was wearing a pair of black slacks and a pale yellow  
blouse.  
For the next couple of hours everyone ate and exclaimed over the cute  
items that Heather had received. Mitch had retreated to the basement  
hours ago. Soon, Heather and Amanda were the only ones left and they were  
munching on the leftover vegetables on the couch.  
"Ahh, it feels good to sit down," Heather said, sounding a little  
tired. She glanced over at her sister.  
"So how are you?" Amanda asked concerned.  
"I'm tired a lot," Heather admitted. "At least I stopped working on Friday." She  
paused, "Is that a new necklace?" she asked.  
Amanda fingered the small gold links of her necklace. "Yeah, dad got it  
at Tiffany's."  
"At least he has one daughter that he can shower with jewelry," she  
said wryly.  
"He doesn't love me more, if that's what you mean," Amanda said  
quickly.  
"I know that," Heather reassured her. "But I do think that they're  
disappointed that I was never into their wealthy lifestyle like you are. I  
was thrilled to get out of that mansion."  
"I like it," Amanda said shrugging. Personally she didn't understand  
why her sister would like to live in such a small house when she knew her  
sister could afford to live somewhere much nicer.  
"I know, I just never cared much about wearing designer clothes and  
having dinner at the country club."  
The sisters ate in silence for a while. "So how's Jeremy," Heather said  
at last.  
"Great," Amanda said smiling. "The football team is doing really well  
this year."  
"Still dating each other exclusively?" Heather asked, raising an  
eyebrow.  
"Yes," Amanda replied defensively. "Why?"  
"No reason. It's just with college starting soon I think it might be a  
good idea for you to cool off and allow yourself to meet new people."  
"We're going to go to the same college."  
"I know, it's just that you will both meet so many different kinds  
of people. I dated several guys before I met Mitch."  
"But weren't you always looking for that special person that you wanted  
to share your life with?"  
"Well, yes," Heather said.  
"I've already found that person," Amanda stated confidently.  
"Yes, but if Mitch had been the first guy I dated I don't know if we  
would have ended up staying together. All those other guys impacted me  
and helped me come to understand what I was looking for in a guy."  
Amanda responded by jamming a piece of cauliflower in her mouth.  
"There's this really great guy that you should meet," Heather said  
carefully. "He's the son of Mitch's best friend. He's really nice and  
really cute. Plus he's been going through a rough time lately."  
Amanda sighed. When Mitch was fresh out of college he had been a sports  
reporter for the Sweet Valley News and he had grown really close to his  
boss, the sports editor. Even though the guy was quite a bit older than  
Mitch, and even though Mitch had left to be a sportscaster on the TV  
station, they had remained close. The guy had a son that went to Sweet  
Valley High and was a senior like Amanda. She hadn't spoken to him since  
they were fourteen, at Mitch and Heather's wedding. Plus, from what she  
had heard, he wasn't really her type. His idea of fun seemed like a  
picnic and a football game while Amanda enjoyed going to fancy restaurants  
and plays. "I don't know, Heather," Amanda sighed. "Moody guys are not  
my specialty. Plus, didn't Mitch say he worked at a landscaping business?"  
she added, crinkling her perfect little nose.  
"Amanda Kathleen Robertson, sometimes you can be such a snob. You  
sounded exactly like mom," Heather snapped  
"I'm _sorry,_" retorted Amanda.  
"Just think about it," Heather said, giving her sister a glance.  
"Maybe," Amanda said absentmindedly. She didn't want to hurt her  
sister's feelings but she knew that her and Jeremy had never been better.  
Plus, she hated to admit it, but she knew she sounded like a snob and it  
made her angry with herself.

"Hey!" Rick said grinning to Trent, Stan, and Jeremy as he opened his  
front door. "Come on in, there's food in the kitchen, music, dancing in  
the family room, and the games are downstairs."  
"Awesome," Trent said looking around. "Where are your parents," he  
shouted. The music was playing pretty loud.  
"At my Grandma's," Rick said grinning. "Plus, our house is pretty  
isolated so we shouldn't hear any complaints."  
"Great!" Stand said.  
"Well, I'm headed downstairs. A couple of guys brought their  
PlayStations and we have them all hooked up. We're all playing Madden NFL and  
each guy has a team and we're playing a full season. Want me to reserve a  
team for you guys?"  
"Green Bay," Stan said quickly.  
"Colts," Jeremy said.  
"You only wish you could play as well as Manning," Trent said laughing.  
"How 'bout you, Maynor?" Rick asked.  
"I'm a good ol' homeboy. I'll be the Raiders."  
"We'll just grab some drinks and snacks and then we'll be down," Stan  
said.  
Rick nodded and headed towards the basement. Trent, Stan, and Jeremy  
gravitated towards the food.  
"Hey, check out that girl," Trent said pointing not so subtly.  
Stan nodded appreciatively while Jeremy shrugged.  
"Come on," Trent said incredulously, "you don't think she's hot?"  
"She pretty, but I didn't really notice," Jeremy admitted. "I have  
Amanda so I don't need to worry about stuff like that. I mean, yeah, there  
are lots of nice looking girls out there, but I don't like, check them  
out or anything."  
Trent stared at Jeremy is disbelief. "I mean, don't get me wrong,  
Amanda's hot and everything, but she's not perfect."  
Jeremy just shrugged and grabbed a handful of pretzels. "Come on, let's  
get some food and go downstairs."  
Trent shot one last look at the girl and followed Jeremy downstairs.  
An hour or two later Jeremy threw down his control. "Oh yeah,  
forty-five yard touchdown. Who's the man?"  
"You are," Trent said scowling. "Butt-head," he murmured and turned to  
Stan. "Oh, well. At least I get to play you next and you suck."  
Jeremy laughed. "I don't have a game next so I'm going upstairs for a  
refill."  
Trent grunted and Jeremy headed up the stairs. The place had filled up  
and Jeremy could hardly move, and the music was so loud he could hardly  
hear. He headed to the kitchen and saw that there wasn't much food  
left. He found a Mountain Dew and popped it open. He didn't hurry back  
downstairs because a game usually took about half an hour. He glanced  
around the room and saw a lot of people he knew and an awful lot he didn't.  
He figured they must have been El Carro students that had gone to Sweet  
Valley. As his eyes drifted over the throng of people, he noticed two  
girls standing off to the side. One of the girls was a petite Hispanic  
girl who was bopping her head and swaying her hips to the music. She  
seemed really giddy and outgoing. Jeremy smiled. She'd be perfect for Trent.  
He'd have to point her out to him later. His eyes drifted over to the  
girl standing next to her. While the other girl had been cute, this girl  
caught his eye. Mainly, because for a second, he thought it was  
Elizabeth. But when he got a closer look at her he realized that though  
she looked like Elizabeth there was something different about her. He  
wasn't exactly attracted to her at that moment. Mainly because he thought  
she was Elizabeth, and while he liked Elizabeth, he wasn't attracted to  
her. He figured that this must be Jessica, Elizabeth's twin sister.  
Elizabeth had talked about her, but Jeremy had never met her. As he looked  
at her more intently he realized something. First, even though she  
looked a little down, there was a strength, a fire in her that Elizabeth  
didn't seem to posses (not that Elizabeth was _weak_). And second, that  
made her sexier than Elizabeth. Jeremy concluded from his intent gazing  
that there was only one possible conclusion. He was attracted to Jessica  
Wakefield. He had only seen her for about one minute and he had never  
spoken to her, but that didn't matter. He thought about Amanda guiltily  
for second, but for some reason he hardly remembered what she looked  
like.  
Amanda was hot, probably hotter than Jessica since she was so regal and  
sophisticated, but Jessica Wakefield was pure eye candy. Her blonde  
hair was slightly tousled and she was wearing one of the wildest outfits  
that Jeremy had seen on a girl that wasn't a rocker. She was wearing a  
hot pink and black tiger striped mini-skirt and hot pink boots. She was  
also wearing a black tank top.  
Jeremy had no idea what possessed him, but he began to walk over to  
Jessica and her friend. He had no idea what he would say to her. He would  
think of that later. Soon he was standing right in front of them.  
The other girl noticed him first. "Hey," she said with a confused look  
on her face.  
"I'm Jeremy," he blurted out. "I work with your sister."  
Jessica gave him a weird glance. "I know. Liz has talked about you."  
She looked bored. Jeremy didn't think that that was a good sign.  
"I'm Tia," the other girl said. She smiled flirtatiously at Jeremy. She  
also poked Jessica's side and gave her a meaningful glance. "Listen, I  
need to get another drink," she said giggling and wandered off.  
"Is she okay?" Jeremy asked, concerned.  
Jessica turned back to him and smiled. Jeremy decided that she had one  
of the best smiles that he had ever seen. "Yeah, I hope so. She's had a  
little too much to drink, though. And when she gets tipsy she gets silly,  
plus she starts acting kind of flirty."  
"Really," Jeremy said raising his eyebrows.  
"Yeah, you know. Dancing and hanging all over random guys."  
"She should meet my friend Trent. He loves slutty girls." He laughed.  
At that Jessica gave him a weird look and glanced down at her shoes.  
Jeremy knew instantly that he had said something wrong. "I didn't mean it  
like that," he said quickly.  
"I know," Jessica said looking up and giving him a tiny smile. She  
started to walk away, heading towards the living room, which was quieter.  
Jeremy hesitated for a second, and then followed her. He knew he  
shouldn't because things could get heavy. If he were to walk away now it would  
just have been casual conversation with the sister of his co-worker.  
But in the five minutes that had passed, Jeremy knew it was already more  
than that.  
Jessica flopped down onto the long, leather couch. Jeremy sat down  
close to her, but not too close. "Aah, quiet," she sighed. "I really didn't  
want to come here tonight."  
"Why?" Jeremy asked curiously. Based on her clothes and what Elizabeth  
had told him he thought that parties were her thing.  
"I kind of wanted to sit home and watch a movie, eat ice cream, and  
mope, but Tia dragged me here." She looked over at him. "Lame, I know."  
"Well, I noticed that you looked kind of sad. Plus, when I said that  
thing about Trent, you looked like you were going to cry."  
Jessica stared at him with surprise. "Well, I just broke up with this  
guy," she started. "But at the beginning of the year when I met this guy I  
really liked him and we started hanging out, but I found out later that  
he had a girlfriend. Needless to say she was _not_ thrilled and started  
spreading rumors about what a slut I was. Then her boyfriend broke up  
with her to date me and he just broke up with me to go back to _her_."  
"Drama," Jeremy said and Jessica laughed.  
"It does sound sort of silly," Jessica admitted. "But, I'm fine. The  
guy's a jerk. Mostly my pride is hurt."  
"Sound like that girl is evil."  
"She is," Jessica agreed. "But I learned my lesson. I'm never going to  
go out with another guy who has a girlfriend."  
"How can you tell?" Jeremy asked, fidgeting slightly. He realized that  
he liked Jessica a lot, but that he was exactly the kind of guy she  
was staying away from. Plus, Jeremy loved Amanda and didn't want to risk  
that relationship. But he couldn't deny his attraction to Jessica.  
"You can tell," Jessica assured him. "Guys that are in love have this  
happy, taken look on their face."  
"What about me," Jeremy asked cautiously, curious as to what she would  
say. He loved Amanda and figured it would show on his face.  
Jessica stared intently at him for a moment. "You look fine," she said  
with a small smile. "So am I right? Do you have a girlfriend?" She was  
staring at Jeremy hopefully.  
Jeremy smiled at her. "No."


	4. Rouge Scarlet

Jessica felt more relief after Jeremy's declaration than she had felt  
in a long, long time. There was something else…happiness? Jessica  
wondered. She grinned stupidly at Jeremy; Jessica came to an important  
realization. She had never been truly happy with Will. Sure, she had had fun  
with him at times. But she hadn't been truly happy. Maybe it was  
because even though Will had apologized and had helped end the 'Jessica is a  
Slut' rumors, the thought that he could have _said_ those things about  
her continued to haunt her mind.  
"I'm glad," she stammered out.  
She hadn't come to this party to meet anyone. Tia said she needed to  
get out of her funk. Actually, when Jeremy had approached them, she wished  
he would just go away. The last thing she needed in her life was more  
drama, and boys always added drama to her life.  
But during the short conversation they had, she began to realize that  
Jeremy might be different. He could end up being the one calm thing in  
her crazy life. She'd noticed it when he spoke. Every time he admitted  
something or said something, he had seemed uncomfortable and fidgety. She  
would have assumed that he didn't like her, but the expression on his  
face gave him away. Jessica decided that he was nervous and a little  
shy. She liked that.  
"I'm glad I was able to meet you," he said softly. "Liz talks about you  
sometimes, but she never said how great you are."  
Jessica beamed and then a suspicious look came over her face. Liz  
wouldn't tell anyone about…. "Whatever she told you is wrong, I never did  
any of those things that she said," Jessica said horrified. What on earth  
could Liz have possibly told Jeremy about? Probably the bad stuff. Like  
the time she poisoned her family. Or when she had sold those horrible  
beauty products and they rotted up. "I mean, Liz isn't so perfect  
herself. I mean she actually _likes_ lima beans. She called Ms. Dalton 'mom'  
last year in front of the whole class, and one time she tripped and  
fell into our pool with her clothes on!" Jessica said defensively.  
Jeremy stared at her in shock. Then he burst out laughing. "Man, she's  
so going to kill you! Actually, all she said was that you were a  
cheerleader and were dating Will."  
"Oh," Jessica said, feeling stupid.  
"Except," Jeremy said, his eyes dancing. "She told me how earlier this  
year you wandered into the wrong class and since you weren't paying  
attention, you didn't realize until after the teacher handed out a test  
that you were in the wrong class!"  
Jessica blushed furiously. "Well, don't think you're exempt."  
"What?" Jeremy suddenly stopped laughing and turned pale.  
"Yeah, she told us about the time that you were trying to use the  
whipped cream machine and you pulled the lever and nothing came out, and you  
tried and tried. So, finally you looked up into the nozzle to see if  
the tube was backed up and you pulled the lever and the machine started  
to shoot out whipped cream all over your face!" Jessica said giggling.  
Jeremy laughed. "I'm just lucky it wasn't hot coffee!"  
"I never realized how much of a big mouth and a gossip my sister was,"  
Jessica said, laughing harder. She hadn't felt so relaxed and  
carefree since the earthquake. Jeremy was laughing, too. Jessica hadn't  
noticed that he had scooted closer to her on the couch. He rested his hand  
on her leg, as if he needed the support to keep from falling over. A  
nice, warm feeling spread throughout her body.  
Jeremy stopped laughing and was now staring at her. "I want to see you  
again," he said hoarsely. "Actually I _have_ to see you again."  
Jessica hesitated for a moment. Even though she had just gotten out of  
messy relationship, she realized that she hardly cared about Melissa  
and Will. They could be in front of her making out and she wouldn't care.  
Well, not _too_ much. Jeremy seemed like exactly the kind of guy she  
needed. He was nice, quiet, funny, and he seemed to understand her really  
well. She wanted to see him again, but she wanted to take this one slow.  
Plus, she decided not to tell Liz or her parents that she was seeing  
someone new. It seemed liked when she made a big deal out of her  
relationships, they usually ended badly.  
"Yeah, that'd be nice," she said shyly.  
Jeremy paused. "How about next Saturday?"  
Jessica hesitated. "I volunteer at the animal shelter in the morning  
but after noon I'm free."  
Jeremy looked interested. "Really?"  
"Yeah, after Prince Albert, our dog, ran away during the earthquake  
I've spent a lot of time over there helping the poor animals. I'd like to  
think someone would do the same for Prince Albert."  
"That's really great," Jeremy said staring at her. "How about we go out  
for pizza or something for lunch."  
"Sure, how about Guido's?" she suggested.  
She noticed that Jeremy was looking really uncomfortable. "How about  
DiSalvo's? It's this really awesome place in Bridgewater."  
"Isn't that a little far?" she asked uncertainly.  
"Yeah, but trust me, their pizza is worth it."  
"Well…okay," Jessica agreed.  
"Great," Jeremy said, getting up. "I'll see you there at  
twelve-thirty," he smiled at her and Jessica couldn't help but smile back.

"Bye Mom! Bye Dad!" Elizabeth shouted as she thumped down the stairs.  
"Wait!" a voice called out from the den.  
Busted! Elizabeth thought. A year ago her parents wouldn't have said  
anything but maybe 'have a nice time,' as she left. But ever since she  
had developed an attitude, came home in the middle of the night from a  
party drunk, and streaked her hair pink, her parents didn't seem to  
trust her anymore. There was no way they would let her go to nightclub  
wearing what she was wearing. Luckily, she had grabbed her trench coat,  
which hid her outfit.  
She slunk into the den. "What?"  
Her dad looked up over the newspaper. "Where are you going?"  
"The Riot," Elizabeth lied. She mentally went through the people who  
might possibly be there that night. Thank goodness Tia had drug Jessica  
off to some party.  
"Who with?" Mrs. Wakefield said, giving a tight smile.  
"Some people from the Oracle," she shrugged.  
That answer seemed to satisfy her parents. "Remember to be back by  
eleven," he father called out to her as she was walking out of the room.  
She whirled around. "_Eleven_ _on a Saturday night_?" she said  
incredulous.  
"Until you prove yourself responsible, it's going to stay eleven for  
a while," her dad said sternly and Elizabeth flounced out of the room  
in a huff.  
She grabbed her keys and marched out to the jeep.  
Fifteen minutes later she had reached the entrance of the Cosmo. It was  
a pretty run down building, but the parking lot was jammed and  
Elizabeth could hear the pounding bass from outside. She turned the jeep off  
and shrugged out of her coat. She was wearing her knee boots with a short  
black skirt that hung low on her hips and she was wearing a hot pink  
tank top where the straps tied at the back of her neck. She quickly  
checked her makeup in the rearview mirror. A slow smile spread across her  
face. If only her friends could see her now! She got out of the car and  
headed towards the entrance. She pulled open the small door and her eyes  
quickly adjusted to the dim lighting. The place was packed with  
teenagers and young adults. Some rock band was playing a loud song in the back  
and people where gyrating against one another on the large dance floor.  
The place was pretty smoky and her eyes began to water. She quickly  
scanned around but she didn't see Cody. Then she noticed a small flight of  
stairs by the band that led to the upper level. The upper level  
wrapped around the edge of the lower floor and lots of people were  
leaning over the railing, looking down onto the dance floor.  
She headed to the stairs and walked up. She scanned the tables that  
were positioned everywhere and sighed with relief when she spotted Cody.  
Elizabeth weaved through the crowd, crashing into a girl with purple  
hair and clothes who sneered at her. With her hair and outfit, Elizabeth  
looked like she fit in, but she knew she was just a poser.  
She reached Cody's table. "Hey!" she said, sliding down across from him.  
Cody's face lit up. "Hey, I was wondering when you'd get here."  
Cody looked pretty much the same, except this time he was wearing a  
black Jimi Hendrix shirt.  
"This place is really cool," Elizabeth said, looking around.  
"Yeah," Cody said agreeing. "My friends and I play here all the time."  
"Play?" Elizabeth asked. "You're in a band?"  
"Yeah, me and two other guys are in a band called Rouge Scarlet."  
"I've never heard of them," Elizabeth confessed. "What do you play? And  
what's with the name?"  
Cody laughed. "I play the drums. My friends Brian named the band. He's  
the guitarist and lead singer. We got together in ninth grade and he  
was obsessed with this girl, Scarlet, so he named us after her, hoping to  
impress her, and Rogue, is his favorite comic character from the X-Men and  
that's where our name came from."  
Elizabeth laughed. "So? Did it work? Did he impress her?"  
Cody laughed and shook his head. "She was mortified at first. She was  
so mad at him that she threatened to beat him up unless he changed the  
name. He refused so she got back by dating Max, our bass player. And  
they're still together."  
Elizabeth shook her head, laughing. "That's really weird."  
"I know," Cody said grinning. "Not only do I play the drums," he  
continued. "I also write our songs," he said shyly.  
Elizabeth couldn't stop smiling. Not only was the guy funny, but he was  
a writer too!  
"That's awesome," she said.  
He shrugged. "I love to write, I always write about stuff that I'm  
feeling or is affecting me. But the problem is, I've got a rotten singing  
voice. So, Brian gets to sing them."  
"Oh," Elizabeth said, not sure what to say. She figured this was  
important to him.  
Cody leaned across the table so their faces were very close together.  
"I've never told anyone this before," he said quietly. "But, sometimes  
it hurts to hear Brian sing my thoughts, my feelings, my _words_.  
Sometimes I wish _I_ could be the one who gets to sing them. Writing is very  
personal. Now I know why music critics sneer at singers who don't write  
their own songs. You're only getting half the performance. Trust me, if  
I could sing them, and sing them well, it'd be a deeper performance  
than with Brian singing them.  
Elizabeth smiled. "I know exactly what you mean," Elizabeth admitted.  
"I love to write short stories or poetry, but I hardly ever show it to  
anyone. It's like if they read them, they'd be reading a part of me that  
I'm not sure I want people to know and understand."  
"But you're a fabulous writer," Cody said, grabbing her hand. Elizabeth  
didn't pull back. It felt…nice. "I read all your things in the Oracle."  
"You do? I mean, I never would have thought," Elizabeth stammered.  
"Rockers read the newspaper too," he said raising an eyebrow. "I loved  
that piece you wrote last week 'Sweetless Valley High' about that woman  
who's trying to sue our school for promoting an unhealthy lifestyle by  
having the word 'Sweet' in our name."  
"I know," she said laughing. "I'm surprised she's not suing the whole  
_city_!" Elizabeth was silent for a minute. "Actually, my writing this  
year isn't as good as it could be."  
Cody stared at her, with question in his eyes.  
"I've really been blowing off the Oracle," Elizabeth admitted. "Earlier  
this year I got wrapped up in this guy I was seeing and I let  
everything slide. Don't worry, I'm still not seeing him," she assured him. "But  
I got into trouble at school and with my parents and then to make it  
worse, the guy totally dropped me."  
Cody squeezed her hand. "That's rough," he said.  
They sat there in silence. Finally, Elizabeth changed the subject. "I  
didn't know you had an earring!" she exclaimed, examining in the small  
silver stud in his left ear.  
Cody fingered with his ear. "Yeah, I've had this for about two years."  
"What did your parents say?" Elizabeth asked him. "Did they actually  
let you get away with that?"  
Cody hesitated. "My mom is pretty easy going. My dad is uh…he died when  
I was five."  
"Oh!" Elizabeth looked down at the table.  
"Don't worry," he assured her. "I hardly remember him. He died in a car  
accident. We were living in Louisiana at the time, but after he died my  
mom moved us here because this is where she had grown up."  
"Wow," Elizabeth said. "That sounds awful."  
"Yeah, but my mom is really awesome."  
"I haven't been getting along well with my parents, but I can't even  
imagine if one of them was gone."  
Cody stood up. "Enough of this maudlin talk. It's a Saturday night. My  
throat is really dry, do you want anything to drink?"  
"A diet coke," she said getting up.  
"No, stay. The line's usually pretty long and you can save our table."  
Cody walked away and Elizabeth stared at the dancing throng of people  
on the lower level. Their table was close to the railing.  
"Wakefield," she heard behind her.  
The voice startled her and when she turned around she almost jumped out  
of her skin. Conner was standing there.  
"You scared me," she said hoarsely.  
Conner raised an eyebrow and smirked at her. Elizabeth blushed  
furiously. She loved it when he did that. "Didn't think this was your kind of  
place," he said as she stood up. His eyes traveled the length of her  
barely clothed body.  
"You're looking sexy," he murmured. He leaned in so that their faces  
were touching. "Love the hair," he said, fingering her pink highlights.  
Elizabeth felt like her body would explode from heat and wanting. Why  
did she have to feel like this when she was with him? He had done and  
said all kinds of horrible things to her, yet she still wanted to grab him  
and kiss him. She was with a really cool guy. Sure, when Cody  
had held her hand it had felt nice, she had gotten a nice warm feeling.  
But nothing like the crackling connection that she felt when she was  
around Conner. She stepped back from him in order to regain control of  
her mind.  
Conner stood there in silence. Finally he said, "So where's T-"  
He didn't finish because Cody had come up behind her. "Here, Liz."  
Conner glanced at Cody and then at Liz. His expression gave away  
nothing.  
"Hey, Cody," she said guiltily. Turning to Conner she said quickly,  
"Tia's not here. She and Jessica are at some party."  
Conner barely heard her; he was staring at Cody and smirking. Elizabeth  
suddenly felt angry. Cody wasn't lame. If she remembered correctly,  
Conner had that same Hendrix shirt.  
"Later, Barbie," he said walking away.  
"Nice guy," Cody said sarcastically.  
"What? You don't like him?"  
"It's not that," Cody said. "He's an awesome guitar player, but he has   
this huge attitude."  
Elizabeth didn't feel like talking about Conner anymore. She grabbed  
Cody's hand and pulled him over towards the stairs. "Come on, let's  
dance!" Cody laughed and when they reached the dance floor they started  
bumping and grinding to the beat. All thoughts of Conner fled from her  
brain.


	5. Happy Again

**Chapter 5**

"So can we meet this boy?" Mrs. Wakefield asked innocently.

"Mom," Jessica rolled her eyes. "This is our first date. Plus, you've met Jeremy before. He works with Liz, remember?"

"Yes, we was very sexy," Mrs. Wakefield said, her eyes dancing mischievously.

"God, _mom_!" Jessica squealed as her mother laughed. Jessica was secretly glad though. She was lucky she was still close to her mom. She knew that Liz and her parents had been butting heads for months, having your mom on your side felt nice and oddly comforting.

"You look nice Jess. Where are you two going?"

Jessica glanced quickly into the hall mirror. Her jean skirt and purple tank top were simple yet alluring. "Some pizza joint out in Bridgewater."

"That's pretty far," her mother commented. "I'm glad you're going for lunch." Her mom gave her a quick squeeze on the shoulder and headed towards the kitchen.

Jessica glanced quickly at her watch. Jeremy wouldn't be there for another ten minutes. She glanced in the mirror again. She smiled. With her purple shirt, she didn't look much different than the eleven year old Unicorn Jessica. However, Eleven-year old Jessica would have envied the heels, makeup, and figure that Jessica had now. She smiled as she remembered trying to smuggle make-up out of the house in her purse before dates and dances.

She also noticed how happy she looked. For the first time in months she was getting ready to leave the house and she didn't feel apprehension or dread. Maybe this year was turning around.

She heard footsteps coming down the stairs and looked over the see Liz drifting down the stairs. Jessica stared at her sister in amused shock. It wasn't like Liz to sleep in till eleven. Plus, her twin had been in such a funk for weeks.

"You look happy," Jessica said smiling.

"Back at you," Liz said, a smile playing at her lips.

"How was you date?" Jessica asked.

"Sssh," Elizabeth said putting a finger to her lips. "Mom and Dad don't know." Elizabeth smiled. "It was great. Cody is really nice and a lot of fun, though you'll never guess who we ran into, Conner!"

Jessica sighed. Elizabeth so did not need to go down this road again. "Liz, I though you were moving on."

"I am. It was just really funny. I think he was jealous. It felt really…_nice_ you know."

"I know," Jessica said smiling. "You look good," she said gesturing towards her sister's blue sundress.

"I don't know," Liz said looking at herself critically in the mirror. "I should have used your approach for dealing with drama. You're a stick. I think I ate too much ice cream."

"You look fabulous," Jessica said standing next to her sister so that two blond girls were standing together. "I should probably eat a little more. You just got curvy," she teased.

Elizabeth smacked her.

The doorbell rang. Jessica flung the front door opened as butterflies fluttered in her stomach. "Hey, Jeremy."

"Hi, Jess. You look really good."

"Hey," Elizabeth said smiling at the two of them. "I'm gonna head out to meet Andy for breakfast. "

"House of Java?" Jeremy kidded.

Liz blanched. "Hell, no. You two have fun."

Jeremy grabbed Jessica hand. Jessica felt a shiver flow through her body. "Let's go," he said smiling at her. Jessica smiled back and followed him out to the car.

***

Jessica eyed the pizza joint appreciatively. It reminded her of her favorite restaurant, Guido's. So far the date was shaping up to be promising.

Jeremy and Jessica has settled comfortably into a vinyl booth that's tabletop was covered permanent marker scribbles, drawings, signatures, and more. Jessica eyed the jar of permanent markers at the end of the table.

Jeremy caught where she was looking and laughed. "Here, you can draw on it. At the end of the year they sand the top of the table off and start from scratch."

Jessica giggled and grabbed a marker. "This is fun. Is the food good?"

"Is it good?" Jeremy laughed, his eyes dancing. "They have the best pineapple pizza I've ever had. It's definitely worth the drive."

"Yum, that sounds good. It's hard to convince people that pineapple pizza is good. You're the first person besides my brother, Steven who's willing to eat it."

"It's my favorite," Jeremy admitted. "So, isn't it weird that we've never met before being a football player and a cheerleader?"

"Yeah," Jessica said thoughtfully and she doodled on the table. "I think I missed the Big Mesa game last year, though. I think I was sick. And I haven't been to the House of Java this year. I've had major drama since school started."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jeremy asked staring into her deep blue eyes.

Just as Jessica was going to speak, their server arrived.

"Have you decided what you want?"

"Uh, a medium pineapple with extra cheese," Jeremy said quickly.

"And a little bowl of pizza sauce," Jessica added.

Jeremy stared at her quizzically as the sever walked away. "I like to dip my crusts," she explained. "And about this year. Let's just say I fell for the wrong guy. He had a long time girlfriend and when she found she decided to take all of her anger and pissiness out on me."

"Uh…wow," Jeremy said gulping a large swig of water. "That sucks."

"Yeah, and then I get blamed for it like I was somehow supposed to know," Jessica said angrily. "But I really don't want to talk about it anymore. It's so over."

"Great," Jeremy said thankfully. Jessica's admission had made her pretty and delicate features turn cold and hard. Jeremy knew he should just fess up. Tell her about Amanda and let her know that they couldn't be anything more than friends. However, Jeremy liked her company. He liked her laugh and her smile and wanted to see if it had the potential to turn into anything. Plus, he hadn't done anything wrong…yet. "So what are you doing besides cheerleading? Do you have a job?"

"I did, I worked at this health and organic place, Healthy. I quit though, my boss was obnoxious. Liz is always chasing after internships so I'm thinking of looking for one in fashion. Maybe fashion merchandising or design. I think I might want to go into that in college."

"That's pretty cool. Have you done it before?"

"No, but I'd like to try. My mom's an interior decorator, and I've worked with her before. But I think my talents are better suited to clothes. Plus it gives me an excuse to justify my shopping as 'research'!"

"That sounds great. I'm thinking about going into archeology. But I'm not sure if I want to go straight into that until grad school. I'm thinking maybe majoring in history and geology."

"Wow, ambitious," Jessica said looking impressed.

The server reappeared and set a pan of steaming pizza in front of them. "Enjoy your meal" he said with a smile.

"Yum, this looks delicious. From now on I'm on a strict pineapple pizza diet," Jessica said laughing.

"Dig in," Jeremy said noting the huge slice Jessica had grabbed. He was glad to see Jessica eating. A lot of girls acted like pizza would kill them on the spot.

"Oh my god," Jessica moaned. "I've died and gone to heaven. This is amazing!"

"So are you," Jeremy blurted out. He immediately wanted to kick himself. _Yeah, like that comment wouldn't lead her on!_

Jessica quickly blushed and looked down at her pizza. "Thanks."

They had in silence for a couple of minutes. Jessica knew she shouldn't rush into a new relationship. Things with Will had ended like a week ago. She knew that she should be by herself for a while and hang with her friends, focus on school and cheerleading. But Jeremy was making her feel _happy_. There was no drama, no competition. He seemed like a nice, funny, thoughtful guy who liked her. "I'm having a great time," she said looking into his brown eyes. "This has been the most fun I've had in a long time, believe me."

"Yeah, me too. Do you want to take off?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Jessica said eyeing the empty pizza pan. "I just don't want this date to end."

"Who said it's over?" Jeremy said, his eyes dancing.

"You mean there's more?" Jessica said, surprised.

"I was hoping you'd maybe want to head back to Big Mesa and go on a hike or something at the park."

"Okay, I'd like that," Jessica said shyly as she climbed into Jeremy's car. "I haven't done that in a while."

Jeremy drummed his hands on his thigh, but didn't start the car. "I'm having a really good time," Jeremy said.

"I know," Jessica said, glancing over at him. "You already said that."

"I just wanted to let you know. I mean, I've worked with Liz for three months and haven't been attracted to her. It's weird, but I'm not even though you guys are twins," Jeremy rambled. "I really shouldn't be saying this or doing this, but I want to see you again, and I want to kiss you."

Jessica looked at him with bemusement. "What are you not allowed to date or something?" She was about to say more when Jeremy's lips cut her off. She responded quickly to his warm kiss and the sweet pineapple taste of his mouth. Shivers went through her body. Just as quickly as it had started, he pulled away leaving Jessica breathless and definitely wanting more.

He flashed a quick smile. "So about that hike?"

***

Amanda's hands trembled as she tore open the envelope. Her first college response! It was from Ohio State. Amanda had never told anyone, but she was pretty psyched about the school. She could picture herself in a red sweatshirt cuddled with Jeremy under a red blanket cheering on the Buckeyes while sipping warm hot chocolate. Amanda had wanted to live somewhere with snow and fall, and Ohio State was a good school. She unfolded the thick packet of letter and let out a scream. She had gotten in! Which meant Jeremy had probably gotten in, too since he was just as smart as she was. Ohio State even had an archeology program! This was perfect! She grabbed her cell phone and dialed Jeremy's number. His phone went straight to voicemail. That was weird, she noticed. Jeremy always had his phone on unless he was at school or practice. She knew he didn't have practice. He had told her he would be doing homework all morning, and he usually welcomed distractions when we was doing homework. Plus, she had hoped about maybe watching a movie together that night. She dialed his home phone number. His mother picked up.

"Hello, Mrs. Aames, it's Amanda. Is Jeremy there?"

"No, he left around eleven to hang out with some friends," Mrs. Aames said. "He should be back any minute. Do you want me to tell him you called?"

"Uh, sure. Thanks." Amanda hung up. Well, now would be a great time for her to start her homework. Jeremy was sure to call back and want to get together.

After an hour, he still hadn't called. Amanda wasn't too worried because he'd probably gotten distracted with Trent and Stan. She wanted to call him again, but she'd already left a message and didn't want to look needy. Jeremy had never failed to call her back, even if it was just to check in.

Jeremy didn't call back that night. For the first time, Amanda felt alone. And for the first Saturday night in years, Amanda didn't have a date with Jeremy. _Where is he?_ She wondered. Had he even gotten her message? Or did he get her message, and just didn't return her call. Amanda didn't want to know the answer to that question.


	6. Third Wheel

**Chapter 6**

Jeremy had never been so grateful for a Sunday. Sunday meant he didn't have to face Amanda for one more day and formulate a reason why he had, one, not seen her this weekend, and two, why he had not returned her calls. There was a heavy feeling in the pit of Jeremy's stomach. He wasn't a bad person. He did his homework, hugged his mother, and even flossed his teeth every night. But he was doing a very bad thing. Someone was going to get hurt, and Jeremy didn't want to hurt either Amanda or Jessica. Neither of them had done anything wrong. All they could be guilty of was liking him and trusting him.

Jeremy, hands shaking, clumsily tied his green apron strings. He glanced over at the schedule to see he would be working with. _Please not Liz, please not Liz!_ He begged.

Crap. It _was _Liz. Just his luck.

_Oh no_. Suddenly the dark feeling in his stomach sank heavier. In his excitement and nervousness of going out with Jessica he had completely forgotten about Liz. Liz had seen him pick up Jessica yesterday knowing all about his relationship with Amanda. True, she hadn't said anything yesterday, but that was probably because she didn't want to upset her sister who was already recovering from one cheating scumbag.

He needed a good lie. His mind conjured up several possibilities. It made him sick to think that he was actually capable of lying like this.

"Morning Jeremy," a sweet voice called out to him.

"Liz, hey. Uh, good morning," Jeremy stumbled. He mentally raked his brain on anything that needed to be done in the café just to get away from Liz.

Elizabeth slowly fixed herself a mocha. "Ahh, caffeine."

"Late night?" Jeremy smirked.

"Hardly," she laughed. "I was up late reading." She set her cup down. "Listen, that was really nice what you did for Jessica yesterday."

Jeremy lost the ability to breathe. "What?" he choked out.

"Thanks for taking her to lunch yesterday. It was really nice to see her smile and hang out with a nice guy who didn't want to hit on her and use her. Jessica needs friends right now, especially guys. Andy's hanging out with her tonight. I know I've rambled about Jess being lonely for days now. You're a really good friend to us, Jeremy"

_She doesn't know!_ Jeremy thought feeling sick and relieved. Jessica didn't mention that it was a date. _Probably laying low from the Will fiasco. Liz just came to her own conclusions._ "Uh, thanks. Glad to help." _Great, just someone else who thinks I can do no wrong._

"It's really nice that you and Amanda are so comfortable in your relationship that you can help out a friend like that." Elizabeth squeezed his arm. She smiled mischievously at him. "And here she is now."

Jeremy whirled around to see Amanda waiting at the counter. "Hi, Jeremy," she said softly, a little unsure.

Damn, he should have called her back last night. "Morning, baby," he said taking her in. Even though she wasn't her normal put together self, she looked beautiful. She must not have slept well last night as he took in the dark circles under her eyes. _I did that to her_, he thought feeling guilty. How could he be cheating on her when he still loved her so much?

"I just wanted to see how you were. I didn't hear back from you last night," she said carefully.

It hurt Jeremy to see Amanda act so quiet and weak. Usually Amanda oozed confidence and grace. It worried him how much he meant to her. "Uh, my mom actually forgot to give me your message until this morning. I was going to call you later. I know how you like to sleep in."

Amanda's whole face relaxed and she actually smiled. "Oh, that's all right. I just had big news, I got into Ohio State!"

"That's awesome, I did too!" he said trying to feign enthusiasm.

"Our first acceptance," Amanda said happily. "I'm really psyched about Ohio, too."

"Yeah," Jeremy said noncommittally. Personally, he wanted to stay out west.

"I can't wait to see where else we get accepted, and we can decide our futures."

"Yeah," Jeremy said feeling a little trapped. This was a new feeling. Usually he and Amanda were inseparable and Jeremy loved that.

Jeremy had no idea what he wanted. A nagging thought crept into his brain. Maybe he was acting out like this because he was afraid of having his future tied to Amanda's. He didn't want her to follow him to college and hold back on her own dreams.

However, Amanda's re-found charm and bounce held him captive. Her black hair fell in waves around her face and her green eyes sparkled. Her white skirt highlighted her long legs and her lace pink tank top highlighted her tan. Jeremy suddenly wanted Amanda very badly. Just then, Jessica soft heart shaped face popped in his head. What was wrong with him?

"Amanda, I think we need to talk."

Jeremy was surprised to see her nod, "I agree."

Jeremy glanced over at Liz. "Sure, take a break, I can handle the crowd," she joked, gesturing towards the empty cafe.

Jeremy shot her a grateful smile and led Amanda over to a small table in the front.

"Let me go," Amanda said quickly. "I was thinking last night after I got into Ohio State and was so excited, I want you to feel that, too. I know Ohio isn't your first choice so I don't want you to feel like to you have to go there or fake enthusiasm to make me happy. I'm probably going to go there since they also gave me a tennis scholarship. I realized that as much as I want to be with you, I can't spend four years clinging to you. I trust you, and I don't have any reason to worry. So, if we don't end up going to the same colleges, I still want to give our relationship a try since there's breaks and summers."

Jeremy felt like a dog. Here was the most amazing and talented girl telling him that she loved and trusted him. That she wanted to stay with him through college even though she could easily get any guy she wanted.

"I hate being jealous," she added. "But I also hate the feeling of making someone feel dependent on me."

Jeremy snaked his hand across the table and took her small hand in his. He couldn't believe he was about to tell her about Jessica. He knew what he had to do; he needed to end things with Jessica without hurting her. He already had an amazing girl and he couldn't continue to play with them.

Amanda smiled at him and Jeremy's heart ached with love. He knew he was so damn lucky to have found love that went beyond a crush and hormones while only in high school. He took in her bright smile, her soft, long hair, her kind eyes, the gentle curve of her lips, her tanned shoulders.

"You're amazing," he said softly.

"Thanks," Amanda said beaming. "I should get going here, last minute practice with Coach Goodrich."

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?"

"A little," she said shrugging. "It'd be nice to win the state title. Ohio is sending some scouts to watch, so it's kind of a big deal."

"You'll do great. I've always been your biggest fan."

"Except when we were twelve," Amanda said mischievously.

"Yeah, then I wanted to piss you off and beat your pants off," Jeremy said laughing. "Though, I had a massive crush on you. You were pretty hot stuff when you were twelve."

"Yeah, but you showed it by flipping my skirt and snapping my bra! Men," she said rolling her eyes, "Always about the boobs and butt."

"What can I say," Jeremy said chuckling.

"Even though you drove me crazy, I think I liked you too," she admitted shyly.

"Oh ho ho," Jeremy said smiling. "You mean all that time you were only half-heartedly slapping me away?"

"Oh, you," Amanda said giggling as she stood up. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. "I'll see you later."

Jeremy nodded. He then slowly got back up and walked back to the counter. He had no idea how tomorrow would go, but he hated himself for having to break Jessica's heart. Maybe he should get it over with tonight. He didn't think he could live with himself much longer if he didn't.

***

Elizabeth groaned and settled back against her pillows. It had been a long day at the House of Java. There had been a big arts festival all day down the street and they had had a steady stream of chaos since about ten. All Elizabeth wanted was a nice warm bath, a hot cup of tea, and a good book. And also for Conner to be anywhere but at his house tonight. Just as she was about to close her eyes she saw a scrap of paper on her desk. She grabbed for it and opened it up.

_Rock Star called_

She sighed at Conner's scrawl. What was his hang up? Was it really that difficult to take a message? She could be snuggling with Cody somewhere, or getting ready to snuggle with him, seeing as they were pre-snuggle. She suddenly felt a burst of energy and hoisted herself off the bed and stormed into Conner's room.

Conner was on his bed, back against the wall reading a paperback when she stormed in.

"What is this?" she burst. "I take it Cody called. This is his message?"

Conner raised an eyebrow. "Chill, Lizzie. It's not like he spilled his guts to me over the phone."

She sighed exasperated. "Did he have a message? Does he want me to call him back?" she demanded. She so did not have time for this.

Conner shrugged. "All he said was he'd talk to you soon. Maybe he made other plans," Conner said in a suggestive voice."

Elizabeth placed her hands on her hips. "What is your problem? Do you not want me to be happy? Do you want me to cry over you for the rest of the year, is that what you want?"

Conner snorted. "You can do better than a Chris Cornell wannabe."

"Conner, I've had a long day, I smell like coffee, I have flour on my clothes-"

Conner stood up and sauntered over to her. "You look fine, Liz. In fact you look incredible," he said softly.

Elizabeth's heart caught in her throat. Why did this guy have such an effect on her?

"Yeah, whatever, remember, you can't begrudge me a boyfriend. You dumped _me_ remember?"

"Maybe I made a mistake."

She was floored. Conner never admitted that he made mistakes. She blushed. "Thanks for letting me know he called, I'll just," she said lamely.

As she tried to back towards the door, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her close.

"I've missed you," he said silkily. He touched her cheek, "the curve of you cheek, your flowery scent, your warmth."

"Oh," Elizabeth said, rooted to the spot. She knew she needed to leave now. She did not want to get sucked back into the Conner and Liz drama. But then, why could she move her feet?

Suddenly his lips were on hers, capturing them in a deep and passionate kiss. Elizabeth let out a small moan of pleasure. Not matter how wrong he was for her, he certainly made her crazy. His hands roamed up her back, pulling her towards him urgently. Before she knew what had happened, she could feel her white t-shirt being pulled over her head. Liz knew she needed to stop before she got out of hand, but she had never wanted someone so badly and her usually sharp mind was elsewhere, like on Conner's waist. She had never let a guy get this far, though not without setting her limits.

Conner's eyes widened as he took in her soft figure.

Suddenly, Liz heard the phone ring and was jolted back to reality. She quickly pulled her shirt down and looked anywhere but Conner. What the hell had she been thinking? Maybe she was just tired from a long day at work, she didn't know.

"Liz?" Conner said with some amusement, his green eyes bright. Liz had never seen him this open and relaxed, but she didn't know what to do. Technically, she was starting something with Cody and she didn't know if she wanted to travel that road again with Conner.

She let out some sort of lame squeak and mumble and then turn and fled back to her room. She grabbed her cell phone just before it flipped to voice mail.

"Hello?" she said breathless.

"Liz, hey! I was worried I was going to miss seeing you tonight."

"Cody?" Liz said tentatively, feeling a blush of embarrassment and shame in her cheeks.

"Who were you expecting?" he said laughing lightly.

"I, um, I'm not sure tonight…"

"Too bad," he said teasingly. I'm just pulling up into your driveway." He clicked off as Liz sputtered. Cody was coming _here_? Conner was here!

Liz flew around her room in a panic. She quickly brushed her hair, threw on her favorite pair of jeans and a baby blue t-shirt and then flew downstairs to grab the door before Conner did, which meant she almost knocked him down as he was coming downstairs as well.

Conner raised an eyebrow at her. Did anything ever faze him? "You need to go," she hissed. "Cody is here."

A full fledged smile formed on his face. "_Go_!" she hissed again as she flung open the door and gave Cody what she hoped was her best smile.

"Hey Liz!" he said brightly. "Practice was canceled tonight, and I thought we could hang out. I brought some movies and some subs," he said holding up a bag.

"Great," Liz said breathlessly. "I'm starving. But you know, we could go out…you know, a picnic or something."

Cody gave her an odd look. "Don't you want to watch a movie?"

"Sure," Liz said lamely. "Come on in."

He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "You look great. You look just like Kristin Bell."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and she led him to the kitchen. "Let's grab some plates and some soft drinks and then we can head into the den."

"Are your parents here?" Cody was curiously.

"No, they're staying with my sister at one of my sister's friend's house. I'm staying here with Megan Sandborn. She's a sophomore." _And her hot older brother_ she thought.

"How do you like that?" Cody asked as he unwrapped the subs and placed them on the plates.

Liz shrugged. "I miss Jess," was all she said. She really didn't feel like having a serious talk right now. Just as she was about to open her mouth, Conner popped out from behind the pantry, with a large bag of chips in his hand.

Cody shot Liz a questioning look. Liz felt her knees shake. She could not deal with this right now. There was no way Conner was going to make this easy on her.

"Cody, this is um…" she stammered.

"I know who it is," Cody said carefully. "Why is he here?"

Conner smiled over at Liz. "I think our Liz has been a bad girl," he said smoothly. _Oh God, he's going to tell_ she panicked. "I'm Megan's half-brother, so I live here, too."

"Oh," Cody said, unsure of what to say.

"It's not a big deal," Liz quickly assured him. "I sometimes forget he's even here."

"Now Liz, I thought we meant more to each other than that," he said teasingly.

She turned bright red. "He's joking," she told Cody lamely.

"I figured," he said giving Liz an odd look.

"So no gigs tonight?" Conner asked Cody.

"Nah," he said. "Practice was canceled, our singer has a cold. We're playing at the Shack though next week. I'm pretty psyched. We haven't played there in a while."

Liz handed Cody of can of Coke. "So what movies do you have?" she asked brightly. She did not want to prolong this awkward threesome.

"Iron Man," he said excitedly. "Have you seen it?"

"No," Liz said, slightly disappointed. Superhero movies weren't really her thing.

"You're going to love it," he said smiling warmly at her. Liz couldn't believe she had even thought of messing around with Conner. Cody was so sweet stopping by with food and wanting to hang out with her. This was just what she needed.

Liz shot Conner a sweet look. "So, don't you have plans with Tia or Andy?"

"Nope," he said shaking his head. "Iron man's cool with me," as he walked into the den with his chips.

Liz shot Cody and apologetic look. This was going to be a long night.


End file.
